


Let's Play A Game

by Mercy_Rhyne



Category: Antisepticeye - Fandom, Sanders Sides
Genre: Angst, Choose Your Own Adventure, Gore, Possible Character Death, more tags will follow as the story progresses, please be careful and keep an eye on the tags thank you, possible gore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-03-06 13:19:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13412091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mercy_Rhyne/pseuds/Mercy_Rhyne
Summary: What should have been a regular meeting between Thomas Sanders and Sean McLoughlin quickly turns into a nightmare when the Sides wake up in a dark room. They have to face many fears and challenges in order to get out and save Thomas.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Implied cleithrophobia (not explicit), blood, slight swearing
> 
> I know I have some younger readers and I have no idea how this fic will turn out, but I know it can get very graphic and gory. So to all my younger followers and everyone who knows stuff like that is bad for them, please be careful when reading this fic! It could get very bad. Please keep an eye on the tags and the rating for every update. 
> 
> Based on a post on Tumblr, by @fear-is-nameless
> 
> Now, for this fic I’m gonna try something different. I’ve left a choice for you all and a link to a strawpoll where you guys can vote and what you will choose, will determine the course of the next chapter and also influence the rest of the fic! Let’s hope this works out.

It was all supposed to just be a regular meeting. Thomas, Joan and Talyn were just supposed to meet up with Sean and Signe after Sean’s panel at VidCon. They were supposed to talk and have fun and maybe shoot one or two collabs together. It was supposed to be _fun_ and _normal_ and _light-hearted._ But something was off. Roman noticed it from the moment that Thomas greeted Sean. He, just like the three other sides, had been watching the meeting on the screen in his room, making sure everything went just fine. And it seemed to be going great, until Roman noticed something.

The screen seemed to be glitching. Lagging. It would show images of something that was not even there; a creature that looked like Sean. Only it had black eyes. Only its throat had been slit. Only it had a maniacal grin on its face. For just one second, it would be visible. In the back of the room, behind Sean or sometimes, the entire screen glitched, showing nothing more than this… _thing_. And one second later, it would be gone. And no one talked about it. As if it wasn’t even there. 

The other sides noticed it too. But it wasn’t only that. They saw that, during their collabs, the camera glitched a few times too, and the same figure appeared in the small screen. Thomas never seemed to notice, but Sean did. The sides noticed he glanced at the screen of the camera a few times and when he noticed a glitch, quickly looked away, as if he pretended not to see it. He never addressed it.

The four sides were all suspicious of these small glitches, but they chose to ignore it. Until the glitches got worse. At first, it was just a small glitch that could easily be ignored. But soon, it grew bigger and bigger, until it took up the entire screen. It turned to static. A high-pitched giggle filled the mindscape as the lights flickered on and off, before eventually turning off, cloaking the entire mindscape in pitch black darkness. 

* * *

When Roman opened his eyes, he found he was in a black room, the three other sides next to him, still unconscious. Where the hell were they?

The prince got up and looked around him. He could hardly see anything in the darkness of the room. He could see Patton’s shirt and the white stitching of Virgil’s hoodie. He could vaguely see the purple of their hair and the paws of Patton’s cat hoodie. 

Carefully, Roman pushed himself up and he carefully walked, with his arms outstretched, until he felt a wall. His hands were pushed against a cold brick wall and the prince used this to feel his way to a door – making sure he didn’t step on any limbs. 

Finally, his hands made contact with smooth wood. Roman took a deep breath and searched for the doorknob. His hand closed around the cold metal and he pushed. Nothing. He pulled. Nothing. He kept trying to open the door, but nothing would work. They were trapped in this room. 

Roman wanted to knock on the door, to call out, hoping that anyone would hear him, but he didn’t want to wake the others like that. They’d be in a panic before they even knew what was going on. Especially Virgil. So instead, the prince slid down the wall and waited for the other sides to wake up. 

First was Patton. Then Logan. And Virgil was the last. Every time they woke up, the others asked what was going on, where they were and what happened. And every time, Roman had the same response.  
“I have no idea.”

And of course, they were distressed to discover this, but especially Virgil. When he heard that they were trapped in the room, his eyes widened.

“So, we… we can’t get out?” he asked. Roman shook his head. 

“I’m sorry, Virgil,” the prince said softly as he looked in his direction. “I know you don’t- I’m sure we’ll get out, okay?”

Virgil nodded, but he spoke no more. Roman noticed Patton scooted closer to the other side and he heard his soft whispers. 

And then they sat in silence. 

Until something in the wall lit up. A TV-screen. 

Roman was the first one to see it, as the other sides had their back turned to the screen. The prince flinched ever so slightly when the bright light appeared, but he regained his composure quickly and looked at the screen in front of him, the other sides soon followed his gaze. 

On the screen – that was glitching like crazy – they could vaguely see a black wall in the background, but that wasn’t the important thing. What was, however, was the person in front of it – if you could even call it a person. 

He looked exactly like Sean, with just a few minor differences. He wore all black clothes and Roman saw black gauges in his eyes. His throat seemed to be slit – multiple times, even – and blood slowly dripped out of the wound. In his hand, he held a knife. The figure looked at the four sides with a sadistic grin on his face.

“Well, what a merry company,” he smiled. “It’s so good to finally meet you all, I’m such a big fan! And Virgil, great to see you again, buddy.” 

Roman’s eyes shot to Virgil, who looked at the demon on the screen with concealed rage.

“Fuck off,” he growled softly, looking down at his hands. 

“Feisty as ever,” Anti said with a distorted chuckle. “Well, we will see if you’re still as feisty when you get out, Black Widow.”

Patton wrapped his arms around the anxious side and tried to comfort him as much as he could, but Virgil carefully pushed him away. Roman noticed the two exchanged a look and Patton nodded, pulling his arms away, but it was too dark to see what the two had secretly told each other. Logan had furrowed his brows as he looked at the screen in front of him, carefully studying every move and every glitch. No one seemed to want to talk, so Roman decided he had to be the one to do it. 

“Where are we?” he asked, looking at Anti with what he hoped would be perfect defiance. “And why are we here?”

“I was hoping you’d ask that,” Anti grinned, turning his head to Roman. “You’re here to play a game!”

“A game?”

“You heard me, Little Prince.” The demon smirked at the creative side, who didn’t break eye contact, even when Anti started toying with the knife in his hands, a malicious smile on his face.

“What game?” Roman inquired through gritted teeth. He had only met Anti just a few minutes ago, but he was already willing to teleport himself to the screen to wherever Anti was, just so he could punch the demon in his glitching face. 

“The rules are simple,” Anti started slowly. “You just need to get out of here alive. As long as one of you gets out, the four of you win.”

“And what if we don’t?” Roman frowned as he looked at the demon. His heart was racing, but he ignored it. Anti was nothing more than a villain. One enemy to get past. Surely, if he studied the demon’s antics now, he would be able to figure out a way to defeat him, if they would ever stand face to face. 

“Well, if you don’t,” Antisepticeye paused with a terrifying grin. His eyes turned completely back and Roman flinched backwards. “That means I win.” 

“What is the prize?” 

“The prize,” Anti stopped again to look at all of the other sides to be sure he had their attention. “Is control of Thomas’ mind.”

Of course, all four sides protested at hearing this. It was not difficult to see that Anti had planned this all. It could not be a hasty decision. Antisepticeye didn’t work like that. He had this entire ‘game’ planned, every single detail. And the sides, on the other hand, had nothing. There was no way this would be a fair game.   

But no matter what they said, of course it wouldn’t help. Anti just grinned at them. 

“Good luck,” he just said. “I’ll be waiting.”

And then, the screen turned off, leaving the sides in darkness once more. Roman was just about to protest when the door next to him slowly opened with a loud shriek. The prince flinched back and pushed himself away from the door. No one spoke. 

“Well,” Roman tried as he got up, hoping to break the tense silence, “at least… we aren’t trapped in this room anymore.”

“That’s a huge relief,” Virgil replied harshly, “now, we’re just trapped in this… place! What are we going to do?”

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Logan said, walking towards Roman. He was still confused by all of this and convinced it wasn’t real, even if he knew it had to be. He couldn’t come up with something like this. “We need to try to find a way out of here.”

“Oh, Virgil,” the prince remembered, “what was that with him… _knowing_ you? What happened?”

“Nothing,” Virgil snapped. “It was a mistake, okay? Thomas pushed me away one day and…. I ended up in this room, and they were there, okay? It’s nothing.”

“They?” Roman asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yeah.” Virgil nodded as he got up, helping Patton up too.Roman wanted to ask him about it, but it was clear that the other side did not want to talk about it anymore, so the prince decided to let it go. 

“Let’s just… let’s just go,” Roman said, walking to the open door. “We need to get out of here some time, why don’t we do it now?”

Logan nodded and quickly followed the prince, who already stepped into the dark hallway. 

“Come on Virge,” Patton said, holding out a hand to the other side. “He is right, you know. We need to do something.”

Virgil nodded and grabbed his best friend’s hand, looking down as he followed Patton to the dark hallway. He knew this was going to be bad. He knew something was going to happen and he knew it would not be fun. They were going to have a bad time. 

When they joined Logan and Roman in the hallway, the two sides looked around. To their left, they could see a brown staircase spiralling up to the floor above them. A weak ray of light shone down. It wasn’t much, but in the dark hallway, it almost seemed bright. 

To their right, there was a long and dark hallway eventually turned a corner. A few candles illuminated the path, but it was hardly enough to see.

And finally, almost right in front of them, there was a black door. It was hardly visible in the darkness of their surroundings, but a vague white spot marked a paper that had been stuck to the door. 

“I think we should go left,” Roman announced suddenly. The other sides followed his gaze to the staircase. 

“Going upstairs?” Virgil asked softly. “Are you sure? We need to get out of here, going up will not lead us closer to the exit.”

“I know,” the prince replied quickly, turning his head to Virgil. “But there’s light! That’s got to mean there is a window, right? Maybe we can use it to get out of here.”

“I don’t think it would be that easy,” Virgil said. “It could be a trap, meant to make us feel safe, just before we all die. The light could be a lamp or something else. Who knows what he has planned? I think it’s too easy to go up. We should go in the opposite direction.”

“Are you sure about that, Virge?” Patton questioned. “It’s pretty dark, and it’s a long hallway.”

“Yeah,” Virgil nodded. “It’s not ideal, but if something does happen there, we have the option to run away from it. We can run in here or maybe even up the stairs. If we go upstairs now, we only have the stairs to escape it. We would be screwed.”

“We’re screwed no matter what, Virgil,” Roman snapped. “You’ve seen who we’re up against, right? We’re not going to get away from this easily.”

“I know,” Virgil said, pulling up his hood. “I’m just… saying what I think, okay?”

“You know, we could just try the door right there,” Patton suggested, pointing at the door in front of them.

“Don’t you think that’s too easy?” Virgil asked, looking up at the side next to him. 

“What do you mean?” Patton frowned. 

“It’s just… it’s the first door you see,” the anxious side reasoned, “and if I were in Anti’s position, I would suspect that we were to try to first door we saw. So, I’d make sure there was something behind that door. Like, a trap or… something like that.”

“If you’re going to base all your suggestions on that, we’re not going to get anywhere,” the prince said, before turning to the side next to him. 

“Logan, I’ll let you decide,” he announced. “What do you think?”

* * *

**Choice 1: Where do they go?**

**a.** **Left, up the stairs**

**b.** **Right, to the long hallway**

**c.** **Forwards, to the door**

**[Vote here](http://www.strawpoll.me/14872287). You have until Sunday, January 21, 12 pm GMT**


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mention of blood, torture and torture devices, small panic attack

**You chose:**

**Option B: Right, to the long hallway**

“I say we go with Virgil’s choice,” Logan responded after a short silence. “That would seem like the best option to me.”

“Then we go right,” Roman sighed, leading the three other sides in the direction of the dark hallway. The four of them stayed close together, looking around every once in a while to make sure nothing sneaked up on them. None of them spoke up. All there was, was complete silence that was interrupted by only the sounds of their footsteps. 

When the four reached the end of the hallway, they saw a corridor just like the one they would leave behind. There was one door there, with a small paper attached to it. 

Without looking back to the other sides, Roman rushed to the door and snatched the paper. He told the other three to wait next to one of the few candles that illuminated the hallway. Trying to decipher the writing on the page, he slowly approached the others, joining them in the vague light of the candle. Roman noticed that the writing was surprisingly neat. It wasn’t difficult to make out what the letters spelled: 

_A look into another life_

_A flash of déjà vu_

_A key hidden in near plan sight_

_There, where once metal grew_

_There you might find that what you seek_

_Is worth a special price_

_Be careful when you make that choice_

_Think past what’s good or wise_

_Next to the traitor’s crib you’ll find_

_The tools that did you wrong_

_But know that they are there to bind_

_To free, they don’t belong_

_And now, dear Sides, one final tip_

_Before I say farewell_

_You only get three shots at this, so pick your options well._

“What does it say?” Patton asked curiously, staring at the paper in Roman’s hand. The creative side didn’t respond as he quickly scanned the writing for himself once more, trying to make something out of it. 

“I think it’s a riddle,” Roman finally concluded. “But I don’t know what it means.”

“Then read it to us,” Logan insisted. The prince looked up, already preparing a comeback when he realised that for once, that was not a priority. He nodded and read the lines on the paper. As soon as he had finished the poem, the door slammed open with a loud bang. All four of the sides jumped and Virgil swore under his breath, placing a hand over his racing heart. Patton glanced at the anxious side worriedly, but the latter told him not to worry. 

“What on earth was that?” Roman wondered, turning around to look at the now open door. He looked back at his friends with a confused look on his face. “Do we…?”

“I think we should enter the room,” Logan answered. “I would say that this riddle gives us somewhat of a clue as to what we will encounter there.”

“Are you sure we should do it?” Patton replied. “We can just turn back…”

“Not anymore.” Roman had already made his way towards the door. “We’re going in.”

He seemed weirdly confident for a man who might be about to be faced with his own demise. He tried his best to be strong, for his friends, but also for himself. As an actor, he knew how to pretend to be something he wasn’t. So he used that ability to act like the strong, brave hero the other sides undoubtedly expected him to be. And before anyone could protest, Roman had entered the room. Logan quickly followed and Patton did too, carefully pulling Virgil along with him. 

“You might want to look out,” the two could hear Roman warning Logan, “there’s a small table almost in front of the entry way.”

Logan responded softly, but neither of the two sides could fully hear what he had said. Patton was the first of the duo to enter. Virgil immediately followed, but when the anxious trait stepped into the room, he saw something that made his heart stop. In front of him, he saw a small table that carried nothing but one candlestick. Both the candle and the table had small specks of something that used to be blood on them. He didn’t know why, but the sight of this made him take a step back in shock. 

“I know this place,” Virgil breathed, trying to get a better view of the darkness in the room. 

“What?” Logan asked as he turned around, looking at the anxious side. 

“I know this place. I don’t know how, but it’s bad. We need to-” he was interrupted by the door slamming shut with a loud bang. “- get out.”

And now they were trapped. They were trapped in this room that made Virgil sick to his stomach, without even knowing why. They were trapped and they couldn’t get out. 

“What do we do?” Roman asked, quickly walking towards the door. He knew it would be locked, but he had to try it. Like he had expected, the door was locked. But at least he tried. 

“I think we need to find out how to get out of here,” Logan replied. “Maybe we use this poem?” 

Roman nodded, making his way over to the logical side to read over the poem. Meanwhile, Virgil was still frozen on the spot, looking at the much too familiar room, trying to find out where he had seen this before. Patton had spotted something else, in one of the corners of the room. 

“What is that?” he asked, pointing at… whatever it was he saw. It looked like a stool with a metal pyramid attached to the top of it, a few straps and ropes hung above it, dangling aimlessly. It was hard to see in the vague candlelight, but Patton could have sworn he saw something that looked like blood covering the top of the pyramid. 

“It’s a Judas Cradle,” Logan answered softly. “A torture device used mostly by the Spanish Inquisition. One would be-”

“I don’t want to know,” Virgil interrupted, reaching a hand out to Logan in an attempt to emphasise his point.

“Right,” the logical side nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Virgil dismissed. He didn’t seem to be able to take his eyes off of the Judas Cradle in front of him. He didn’t even want to know how this horrible thing could be used against someone, and what they would have to suffer through. It was disgusting. “Why would this even be here?”

“I think I know the answer to that,” Logan answered, staring at a table not far from the torture device. “Look at this.”

Patton, who was the closest to Logan at the moment, walked over and stopped next to him. He studied the contents of the table, before stumbling back, leaning against the wall in an attempt to stay on his feet. Logan couldn’t take his eyes off of the sight in front of him while the other two sides rushed towards Patton, worried that he was feeling ill. But he reassured them that he was _fine_ , just… shaken. Virgil soon enough turned around to look at whatever had been placed on this table, but when he saw what it was, he wished he hadn’t. 

Before him, he saw dozens of tools. Some weren’t unusual to see, a hammer, file, chisel or even tweezers. Some were brand new, but he also noticed that a few of them had been stained with something that seemed to resemble blood. But that was not what horrified him the most. No, right in front of him, he saw a sword, with a golden hilt decorated with rubies, blood staining the blade and it had even dripped down onto the hilt. Next to it, there was a small dagger, similar to the sword in every way. Even in the way it was coated in blood. And not far away from the dagger, he noticed pliers. There was blood on the tool, although it was not nearly as much as the amount of blood that covered the previous two weapons. Virgil felt sick. Actually sick. He did not know why, but if he looked at the weapons any longer, he knew he would throw up. So he turned away, covering his hand with his face. The side stumbled away from the table, finding comfort in the support of the cold wall. 

“Virgil?” Patton asked as he noticed the other side’s odd behaviour. “Are you okay?” Virgil shook his head. Of course he wasn’t okay. Those weapons had stirred something in him and he didn’t know what. But it wasn’t good. 

“What’s up?” Roman asked as Virgil collapsed on the cold ground. The prince hurried towards the shaking side. He reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, but Virgil pulled away as soon as he felt the prince’s touch. “Virgil? What’s going on? It’s okay, Virgil, it’s me.”

The creative side carefully tried to place a hand on the other side’s shoulder. Virgil tensed, but didn’t pull away again. After a few moments, he even relaxed ever so slightly. 

“We need to get out of here as soon as possible,” Roman said to the other sides, who looked at Virgil with a worried look on their faces. “What does the poem say?” 

Logan quickly looked down at the poem and moved closer to the wall to read the words written down on the paper. 

“A look into another life,” he read slowly. “A flash of déjà vu.”

“That has got to refer to Virgil,” Roman interrupted, slowly getting up and approaching the two other sides. “Go on.”

“A key hidden in near plain sight, there where once metal grew.”

“Near plain sight,” Roman mumbled as he quickly walked to the door, grabbing the candlestick from the table and looking around in the small room. “That must mean it’s easy to see, but not immediately.” 

He walked to the wall on the other side of the room, hoping that he would find a key right there. Slowly, he approached the Judas Cradle and that’s when he saw it. It was hardly visible from where the other sides were standing, but Roman noticed a glimmer of what had to be metal, connected to the strap that had been attached to the top of the metal pyramid. He could barely see it in the vague light of the candle. Virgil had gotten up again – seemingly, he had almost recovered from his panic attack already – and carefully grabbed the piece of paper Logan carried. 

“Where once metal grew,” Roman repeated as he looked at the Judas Cradle. He remained there for a few seconds as he thought it all through, until something clicked. “Of course!” He already reached for the key and he felt his fingers wrapping around the cold metal as he heard Virgil’s voice. 

“Wait,” he called out, “we still need to figure out the second-”

But it was too late. Roman had already pulled the key away from the strap and he held up his arm. The prince was about to comment on his own achievements, when he heard something that sounded like the rattling of a chain followed by something cold wrapping itself around his left wrist. 

“That’s why we think before we act,” Logan commented, “now we need to free Roman as well.”

“Well, excuse me,” Roman snapped. “I thought it all made sense.”

“What was your reasoning?” the logical side asked, adjusting his glasses.

“Well, I thought that ‘where once metal grew’ would refer to the cradle! The… pyramid-thingy is made of metal, and it’s elevated so… it once grew. That sounds logical, right?”

“I guess,” Virgil agreed with a shrug. “But I agree with Logan: we need to discuss our options before we make decisions like this, before we make a mistake.”

He then brought the paper up, to read the next few lines of the poem, hoping he would find a way to free Roman from the cuff that chained him to the wall. Meanwhile, the prince pulled at the chain, as if he hoped that he could pull it free from the wall. But, unfortunately, his actions had the opposite effect. Instead of being liberated, he felt the cold metal tightening around his wrist. The man groaned as he stopped his efforts to break the chain. 

“What happened?” Patton asked worriedly, rushing towards the prince in a futile attempt to help him out. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Roman answered through clenched teeth. “It just got tighter, that’s all.”

“Tighter? How tight? We need to get you out of there!”

“Patton, calm down,” Virgil said softly, looking at the moral side. “We’ll figure something out. And Roman, stop trying anything, okay? We need to come up with a good plan first.” 

“Well, what does the poem say?” Logan asked, looking over Virgil’s shoulder. “Maybe that will help us.”

Virgil read out the final lines of the poem and when he had finished, he looked up at the logical trait, hoping he would have the solution. 

“We need to think out of the box,” Roman said slowly. “We need something… unexpected. How about using this key?” 

He moved his chained up hand ever so slightly as he spoke, drawing the attention to the key he still held onto. 

“I don’t know,” Logan mumbled, going over the riddle once again. “We need to be sure. We only have three- two chances left.”

“Two?” Patton asked, raising an eyebrow. “Didn’t the poem say we had three chances?”

“It did,” the logical side answered. “But I think Roman’s attempt at getting free counted as a shot. A failed one. That’s why the cuff got tighter.”

“Right,” Patton nodded. “Two chances.”

“There’s something about the tools on the table, though,” Virgil figured out. “Do you think we need to do something with those?”

“Maybe,” Logan nodded, snatching the paper out of the anxious side’s hands. “They are referred to as ‘the tools that did you wrong’, what does that… Virgil?”

“Yeah?”

“Your reaction to seeing the tools and weapons, where did that come from?”

“Well…” Virgil paused for a few moments. It felt wrong to talk about it, but he realised it could be important. So he had to mention it. But his emotions, the pain, the fear, they all lingered. “I just… I don’t know. I have a bad feeling about them. Like something bad- no something… _horrible_ happened with those weapons.”

“That’s perfect!” Logan almost grinned, causing the other three sides to raise an eyebrow in confusion. “Which ones caused your reactions?”

“The sword,” Virgil answered hesitantly, “the dagger. And the pliers.”

“Maybe we can use one of those tools to break the chain?” Patton suggested, suddenly seeing the connection. 

“So you say I might have to walk around with this thing around my wrist?” Roman protested. 

“Not necessarily,” Virgil responded calmly, “but I agree that it would be a good plan. Maybe as an alternative, but at least that would mean you are free again and not chained to a wall, right?”

“I mean… I guess….” Roman shifted uncomfortably, looking up at the key he still clutched in his chained hand. 

“Or maybe…” Logan made his way over to the table again. “Maybe we do think out of the box. Use something more abstract.”

“Like what?” Virgil turned around to look at the logical side who was stood in front of the table filled with tools and weapons, looking at everything the table carried. 

“How about this hammer and chisel?” Logan suggested, lifting the two tools. “We could be able to break the cuff with this.”

“Or my wrist,” the creative side countered. “You miss that thing and that hammer will shatter my bones! It’s risky.”

“Everything is a risk here, Roman, I’m just naming some suggestions.” 

“Well… are there any other ideas?” Virgil wondered. “Anything else we can use? Because we need to make a decision soon if we want to get out of here with the four of us.”

“Well, let’s look at the poem one last time,” Patton said. “What does that say?”

**Choice 2: How do the Sides try to free Roman?**

**a.** **Using the hammer and chisel**

**b.** **Using the sword or dagger**

**c.** **Using the key** ****

**[Vote here](http://www.strawpoll.me/14924766). You have until Sunday 28 January, 12 pm GMT to vote**


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: swearing, mention of bone, bone breaking, (self-)dismemberment, blood and gore, graphic scene, I marked the worst gore because it is pretty bad, I apologize

The sides read over the entire poem once again. 

“They are there to bind,” Roman repeated softly. “So we shouldn’t use the weapons, right?”

“I don’t think so…” Logan said as he scanned the final lines, “unless it only refers to the ‘tools that did you wrong’. In that case, we could still use the hammer and chisel, I think.”

“Let’s just go for the key,” Roman decided. “No offense, but I don’t trust any of you with a hammer that big that close to my arm.”

The three sides looked at each other, silently debating this solution. 

“I think we should go for it,” Patton said, already reaching for the key in Roman’s hand. “It _is_ out of the box, and we can’t be sure if we can use the hammer and chisel.”

“Fine,” Logan nodded. “Go ahead.”

Patton nodded as well and grabbed the key, scanning the cuff around Roman’s wrist for a lock. It was difficult to see anything in the weak lighting, but finally, he spotted something that could fit the key. He pushed the key into the lock and when it fitted perfectly, his heart skipped a beat hopefully. But when he twisted the small key, the cuff didn’t open like he had hoped it would. 

Instead, he heard Roman gasping in pain as he felt the metal of the cuff put more pressure on him arm, followed by a loud snap. 

“Oh God,” the prince hissed, “wrong choice, wrong choice.” 

Patton stepped backwards in shock to look at the other side’s face, while Virgil and Logan rushed towards the two.

“Roman,” Logan said instantly, grabbing the prince’s free hand. “Try to move your fingers, okay? Tell me what you feel.” 

The creative side nodded and complies. He tried to move the fingers of his left hand. He managed, but _God_ that hurt. Roman bit his lip to prevent himself from screaming in pain. 

“That- that hurts,” he stated softly. 

“And your fingers? How do they feel? Are they tingling, or numb?”

“They’re pretty numb.”

“Then it’s certainly broken,” the logical side concluded.

“Well, fuck me gently with a chainsaw,” Roman hissed. The three other sides raised an eyebrow at this remark, which Roman quickly brushed off. 

“Well… broken bones or not, we still need to get Roman out of here,” Virgil stated softly. “So what do we do?”

A long silence followed. They had already wasted two of their chances and they had no idea what would happen if they ruined their last one as well. Roman’s wrist had already been broken, what would happen next? No one wanted to find out but… they had to do something.

“Logan, do you know how to bandage wounds?” Roman asked out of nowhere. Three heads whipped around to face the prince in confusion. 

“Yes, I… I do,” the logical trait answered, “why do you-”

“Great, then give me that dagger.”

“What do you-”

“Give me the dagger on the table,” Roman repeated. Virgil was the first to nod and make his way over to the table. He didn’t look at the weapons on the table as his hand reached for the hilt of the dagger. As soon as he came into contact with the cold weapon, Virgil knew it was wrong. It even felt so wrong. This dagger had done something and he couldn’t remember what it was. Had it been in another life? Another world? He didn’t know, but he was so desperate to learn what this weapon had done, and why it affected him this much. Even holding it in his own hand felt… _wrong_. 

Nevertheless, Virgil made his way to Roman, who had outstretched his free arm already. The candlestick had been passed to Patton, who held on to it like it was a lifeline. Roman thanked the other side as his fingers wrapped around the hilt. 

“Okay… you guys should probably look away,” Roman advised, turning his head towards Virgil and Patton. “Especially you two. I know you hate- what I’m going to do.” 

“Roman,” Patton whispered softly, his heart speeding up with panic, “you’re not going to-”

“I don’t have a choice,” the prince replied. “I don’t want to find out what happens if we get the last chance wrong. Now, close your eyes.”

Patton sighed, but obeyed. Virgil and Logan quickly did the same, seeing it was useless to protest. Roman had made a decision. With a sigh, the regal side turned to his chained hand, clutching the dagger tightly in the other. He didn’t want to do this, but he knew it was their only guaranteed solution. 

**(GORE COMING UP)**

“For Thomas,” he breathed softly before he raised the dagger above his head and sliced through his skin. The prince bit down on his lip so hard that he tasted the iron taste of blood in his mouth. The dagger easily cut through his radius, shattering the bone with ease. Roman took a deep breath as he lowered the dagger for just a few moments. He still had a little bit to go, it would take him one or two more tries. He had to do it. 

Red blood stained his white shirt as Roman pulled the dagger back. Just one look at his arm made him sick. There was blood everywhere, pouring out of the wound and- _oh God was that bone?_ Roman wanted to stop, to lay down the dagger and get out of here. But he had to go on with this. So with another deep breath, the prince raised the bloodied weapon again. He had to do this. For Thomas. 

Roman let the dagger cut through his skin one more time, shattering his ulna and piercing through his skin. But his arm came free. The prince stumbled back a bit and as he looked up, he was faced with his hand, dangling in the grip of the cuff as blood dripped down, forming a deep red pool on the ground underneath. 

( **OKAY IT’S OVER)**

“Oh God,” Roman gasped as he looked down, keeping his gaze away from his arm. “Logan… a little help?”

The logical side nodded and opened his eyes, his gaze immediately pulled towards what was left of Roman’s arm.

“Okay,” Logan breathed as he tried to observe the situation as calmly as possible. “Lift your arm a little.” Roman did as he was told while Logan moved to tear off the end of his own shirt. 

“Wait,” the prince stopped him. “Use mine, it’s longer.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m pretty sure my shirt is longer than yours,” Roman snapped. “So yes, just do it, alright?”

“Okay.” Logan slowly moved forwards to tear a piece of fabric from the hem of Roman’s white shirt to wrap around his prince’s stump. “I think I might need your sash. Would that be a problem?”

“I don’t think so,” Roman answered, removing the red sash with his only hand. 

“Hey guys, can we look already?” Virgil wondered suddenly. 

“No,” the prince called out as Logan softly asked him if he could sit down, “no, don’t.”

“How long will we have to stand here?”

“Until I’m ready,” Logan answered as he carefully wrapped the white fabric of Roman’s shirt around the prince’s arm. “Though, Patton, could you see if the key can unlock the door? I think I might have to use it eventually and it’s best to check if we can use it for another purpose beforehand.”

“Of course,” Patton nodded, turning around to head towards the door. “I can open my eyes if I’ve got my back turned to you, right?”

“Naturally,” Logan said, grabbing Roman’s sash with one hand while his other applied pressure to the piece of fabric around the prince’s arm. Roman had decided to place his arm on the ground, so Logan could do this. The prince had to admit it was an uncomfortable position, but it made Logan’s life a lot easier. As Patton tried to open the door with the key he had previously used in an attempt to free his friend, Logan grabbed the dagger so he could cut the sash to make it easier to wrap around the improvised bandage. It took him a few tries to do this – using his feet to keep the sash in place. In the meantime, Patton had managed to open the door and he squealed softly as he pushed the door open. 

Logan wrapped the sash around Roman’s arm, making sure it covered the fabric of the shirt – that had already been coloured a deep red – and a portion of Roman’s arm. He twisted the final part of the sash and wrapped this around the fabric, creating a tourniquet to apply pressure. 

“Patton, could you give me the key?” Logan asked, holding out one hand. “But make sure not to look at this, you don’t want to see it.”

“Coming,” Patton answered. He walked towards the two sides, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor. “Here you go.” He saw Logan’s hand and gave the logical side the key. Logan thanked the other as he closed his fingers around the metal. The key was used to keep the sash in place around the makeshift bandage, applying pressure while also making sure it could not move. Logan tied a small part of the sash around one end of the key, hooking the other end behind another part of the red fabric.

“That’s all I can do for now,” Logan announced as he sat back, “it’s not perfect, but it’s the best I can do with what we’ve got here.”

“Thank you,” Roman smiled as he got up again. “It’s better than nothing. I think I’m going to take this dagger with me, by the way. We might be able to use it.” Logan nodded as he got up himself, telling the other two sides that they were ready to leave. Both Virgil and Patton turned around as they heard it and opened their eyes. Both of them were curious as to what they would be met with when they did turn around, but the two of them knew better. Roman told them not to look and he would have a good reason for that. 

When Virgil had turned around, the first thing he was met with, was the table with many tools and Roman’s words echoed in his mind. They had no idea what they would be faced with and they could use anything to protect them. And before he could protest, his body moved forwards, towards the table. His hand reached out for the sword, coated in blood that made him want to throw up. As he held it up, it reflected the light of the candles in the room, making it look so harmless, yet so sharp and dangerous. It was entrancing in the most terrifying way. He had to take it with him, even if it made him sick. 

“I’m taking this with me,” the darker side announced as he turned to face the others, who were waiting for him in the doorway. 

“Are you sure?” Roman asked. 

“Positive,” Virgil nodded, ignoring the anxiety that burned in his mind as he slowly lowered the sword. The other three sides just nodded as they left the room. Virgil rushed himself to catch up with the others, carrying the sword at his side as he stepped out of the cell. He had expected to find himself standing in the same hallway as before, but instead, he was faced with a whole new room. It was a large, grey room, illuminated by just a few candles. In front of him, he saw a large and dark hallway leading up to a mystery. Virgil noticed a small amount of candles, but they seemed to do nothing to battle the darkness. On both sides of the room, the anxious side saw similar hallways to the one in front of him, and when he walked towards the middle of the room, Virgil found out that there was a fourth right next to him. 

“Where are we?” he wondered, dragging the sword behind him as he walked towards the other sides. 

“I have no idea,” Roman replied. “But I think I see a paper over there!” 

Before anyone could answer, he ran towards the right corner of the room, where he had noticed a white rectangle on the dark grey wall. His footsteps echoed through the room, sounding so much louder than any noise. 

“What is it?” Patton asked as Roman snatched the paper off the wall. “Another poem?”

“I think so,” the prince nodded. He slowly made his way back to the group. “But there’s some weird letters next to it… check this out.”

When he said this, the creative side was stood in front of his three friends and he turned the page around, so they could read the words for themselves. 

_Four paths all around_

_In this little maze you’ve found_

_Pick just one, but please be smart,_

_Be calm, be wise and on your guard_

_Four doors at the end_

_N          Behind one waits an old friend_

_Who our royal might still know_

_Hurt as she is, misses you so_

_W         Another hides an ancient beast_

_Riddles are all that he speaks_

_I think Logic might appreciate_

_A meeting with this Lord of Fate_

_S          A third door shows you who you are_

_A challenge of fear, a test of heart_

_Keep your head cool under pressure_

_And results will be naught but pleasure_

_E         The last one leads to only dark_

_Guaranteed to leave a mark_

_This is not for the weak of mind_

_If you should leave, leave none behind_

_Four choices, none good_

_But all carry one tool_

_If you learn where to look_

_The test leaves you the demon-sword_

_The beast gives you a knife_

_The friend hands you a bow and arrow_

_The dark an empty gun_

_These tools might proof to save your life_

_If you learn where to look_

_Once you choose, no turning back_

_So be careful when you do_

_I wonder where you’re going next_

_And what you’re finding, too_

**Choice 3:**

**This will not be a poll. I will leave the chapter here. Study the chapter and leave your theories on what this means and where the Sides should go next.**

**You have until Tuesday February 13, 12 PM GMT**  



	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mention of blood, minor cleithrophobia, some swearing, I think that's it

**You chose:** __

_W          Another hides an ancient beast_

_Riddles are all that he speaks_

_I think Logic might appreciate_

_A meeting with this Lord of Fate_

 “We need to look at this poem thoroughly,” Logan spoke up. “It is clear that there are four options for us to choose, with their own challenge and own rewards. We should analyse this information and decide on what path would be the best.”

“How do we know what path is which, though?” Patton wondered, looking up from the paper Roman held up in front of them. “The poem said nothing about that.”

“Not explicitly, no,” Logan replied. “But implicitly, yes. It tells us all we need to know. If you look clearly, you can see the four letters you mentioned before. N, S, E, W. North, East, South and West. I do not know the actual directions, but I would say that the Northern path is the one in front of us, as that is the first one we were faced with, and North is typically depicted as the top one of the compass rose. Of course, it could be any directions, but this is the most elegant and simple explanation, which, according to Ockham’s razor, would most likely prove to be the right one.”

“But this isn’t a question of explaining natural phenomena or philosophical ideas,” Virgil protested slightly toying with the hilt of the sword in his hand, “this is Anti. There is reasoning behind his tricks.”

“Exactly, which is why this would seem like the most probable solution to me.” Logan nodded, adjusting his glasses. “There is reasoning and we need to be able to figure out this reasoning if we want to progress, otherwise this riddle would be futile. So unless there is anything that will tell us which way is North, we have nothing else.”

“I’ll check that,” the anxious side announced, and before anyone could say anything else, he had walked away from the group and headed towards one of the pathways, carefully looking around for any sign of a direction. He didn’t know what to expect. A letter or ancient rune engraved in the grey stones? A hint, a guideline? He had no idea. But he knew he had to try something. 

When the other three sides were sure that what Virgil was doing was safe, they decided to focus on the riddle. 

“I think we shouldn’t go to E,” Patton claimed. “It will give us an empty gun, which is nearly useless, and the challenge sounds bad. Especially for Virgil.”

“N is off the table, too,” the prince chimed in, “I think I know who it’s referring to, and I don’t feel like facing her again. The last time we met, it was a tough fight, and that’s when I still had two hands.” He looked down at his left arm, the one that was missing a hand and was currently drenched in crimson. 

“So, it is W or S, then.” Logan nodded, mentally crossing off the other two options. “I think it is easy to say W leads us to a Sphinx, every word leads to it. Though I do not know the significance of the words ‘Lord of Fate’, however, I think that would be cleared up if we went that way. S would give us a… a demon-sword, isn’t it? I have no idea what that might mean, but it would be a good guess to pick that room, as it might prove to be a powerful weapon, though I think that would also be the most challenging task.”

Roman read the poem over again and frowned. What would this demon-sword be? He knew that there was a sword in the dreamscape. A sword that could kill a demon. But surely, this could not be it, could it? It could be one of Anti’s tricks. Maybe it was a sword possessed by a demon, maybe it was cursed by one. It could be anything and they would have no idea. 

“I think we should go for W,” the prince eventually concluded. “The demon-sword could be anything. It could be a sword that can kill Anti, sure, but if it is a sword that has been cursed or possessed by a demon, it could turn on us. We do not need another threat. I think we should play it safe and go to the Sphinx. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Logan nodded as he took in Roman’s words. All this talk of demons and curses was still new to him, but it was something that seemed to be real in this realm. This house – or whatever it was they were in – didn’t seem to follow the laws of physics, as Logan had noted when they entered this room, and it was something which felt wrong to him. But this wasn’t their world, it wasn’t the real world, where everything obeyed the unwritten laws of nature. This was Anti’s world, and this was nothing more than a game they were playing. An act. It wasn’t real. 

“Do you agree, Patton?” the logical side asked, turning his head to the man next to him. 

“Well, yeah… I think,” Patton answered hesitantly. “I do think that the challenge in S could be dangerous as well, so W is the only option left.”

“How about you, Virgil?” The anxious side looked up as he heard Logan calling his name. He had studied the first two hallways, but found nothing. Now, he had moved on to the third one, but he still hadn’t found anything that could help them. Logan quickly explained what the three of them had discussed and Virgil shrugged that he was fine with it. If they thought it was their best option, then it was all fine. He quickly moved on to the last corridor, but still, he found nothing. 

Slightly disappointed with the outcome, Virgil walked back to the other sides. 

“So, we’re going for W?” he asked as he stopped next to the moral side. He looked at the others as they nodded. But none of them wanted to be the first one to move. No one them wanted to take the first step in the direction of their next trial. Because even if it was ‘only’ a Sphinx, no one knew what would happen after. 

“Shall we… go?” Patton suggested, trying to encourage the three others. “We have to leave some time. We can’t stay here forever.”

“You are right, Patton,” Roman nodded. He took a few steps backwards, looking at the dark, looming hallway they would have to walk through. It was so horrifying and ominous. He didn’t want to go down that path. But he had to. “We need to go. Come on.”

He was the first one to take a few steps in the direction of what they hoped would be the hallway that led to the Sphinx. He gestured for the three remaining sides to follow him as he finally stepped into the hallway, followed closely by the three other sides. But, as soon as Logan entered the corridor, a third wall shot up behind the four sides, locking them up in the hallway and taking away any hopes they had of returning to the main room. 

“Oh shit,” Virgil whispered. “Shit. No, this is… crap.”

Patton grabbed the younger side’s hand and smiled at him. 

“It’s okay, Virge,” he said softly, “we’re here, okay? We’re all here for you.”

Virgil nodded, but he still looked panicked in the vague light of the few candles in the hallway. The fatherly side slowly stepped forward, pulling Virgil along with him.

No one spoke as they walked on. No one dared to speak a word; all that interrupted the foreboding silence, was the sound of their footsteps. 

Finally, the narrow corridor grew wider, until it ended in another small room, with in front of them a giant Sphinx. It didn’t look exactly like the creature the sides had imagined, though. The beast with the body of a lion and the head of a man almost blended in with its dark surroundings, with a body as dark as the night. It was ominous and almost terrifying. Of course Anti would create something like this. Logan seemed almost excited to meet with the Sphinx, to hear its riddles. He had always loved riddles and he had hoped this would prove to challenge him at least a little, to get out of the rhythm of terrors they might be exposed to. He had no idea how a trial like this would fit in with the others, as they seemed much more horrible and much more dangerous, but he assumed Anti would have his reasons. The demon seemed to have this entire puzzle figured out and Logan decided not to question his logic, even if it was a weird, distorted logic.

As soon as the four sides stopped in front of the Sphinx, the statue-like created towering above them seemed to come to life and it immediately started with the first riddle. Its low voice echoed through the small room.

_“What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening?”_

“Are you serious?” Logan wondered with a disbelieving chuckle. “Anti must have underestimated me. That is simple. It’s man. Can we pass now?”

“No,” the low voice rumbled. “There’s another.”

“Alright,” Logan nodded as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, a smug smile on his face. “I’m listening.”

The three other sides looked at Logan, who stood in front of the terrifying being as if it was an old friend, patiently awaiting the next riddle that would be given to him. He seemed so laid back, so relaxed. Like he wasn’t aware of what might happen if he got the answer wrong, because that was all the other sides seemed to be able to think of. What would happen to them if Logan got it wrong? It was a thought that hadn’t even crossed Logan’s mind. He just waited patiently to be given the next riddle. 

_“There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are the two sisters?”_

“Day and night,” the logical side said, not even batting an eye. “Please, what does Anti think of me? I know my mythology. I assume we are free to continue now?”

“No,” the beast answered. “One final riddle.”

“A third?” Logan wondered, looking much more intrigued. “Well, this will be interesting. I’m ready.”

The three remaining sides exchanges a few glances. This had been going far too well for their liking. The first two riddles were riddles that Logan had solved in seconds; he had probably heard of them already. But the third one could prove to be the true challenge. He had seemed surprised by the existence of a third riddle, which might prove to be their downfall. 

Unfazed by all of this, the Sphinx continued:

_“The dark side to a story pure_

_A mind as yellow as sweetcorn_

_A friend turned into enemy_

_The worst face you might never see_

_A lie, an act, a falsehood and_

_The one play with uncertain end_

_Like my magician, your phantom_

_Masked, concealed and so well hidden_

_What is the name I seek, this word_

_What is this phrase forbidden?”_

“Looks like Anti decided to show off as well,” Logan mused with a smile, “though I must say, I’m disappointed. I would have expected more of him after the last few riddles.”

“Are you saying you have got it already?” Roman asked, turning to the other side with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course,” the logical trait said, looking over to the prince. “It’s fairly easy. The symbolism and the hints are too obvious. I must say that there are a few hints I do not understand, but what I do know is quite easy.” 

Roman scoffed, trying to mask the fact that he was impressed by Logan’s quick reasoning. Virgil and Patton didn’t try to hide this, however, and the latter decided to carefully ask about it. 

“Then… what is it?”

**Choice 4: What is the answer to the riddle?**

**[Vote here](https://www.strawpoll.me/15129510). You have until Thursday March 1 st, 12 PM GMT**


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: I don’t think there are any? Let me know if I need to tag something though!

**You chose: Deceit**

“It’s Deceit,” Logan said smugly. “Of course it is.”

As if on cue, the Sphinx nodded and slowly moved out of the way, revealing a large, black door. Three of the sides already moved closer to the dark door, but a fourth voice stopped them. 

“Do you really think we should go through that door?” Virgil asked softly, his voice unsure. “I don’t trust this. Maybe it’s a trick.”

“Well, we have to,” Roman said, turning around to face the anxious side with a small smile. “We can’t exactly go back, can we?”

That was when Virgil remembered the wall shooting up behind them. It was a point he had forgotten about. The darker side was about to open his mouth to agree with this statement, when he thought of something.

“Maybe we can.” Virgil turned around and ran back to the beginning of the hallway and he came to a halt in front of the youngest wall. He heard three pairs of footsteps following him and stopping a little bit behind him.

“Virgil, kiddo, what are you doing?” Patton asked carefully. His voice was unsure and soft as he looked at Virgil who was currently running his hands over the wall, feeling every brick in search of… _something_.

“Trying to figure out if there’s a way out of here.” Virgil didn’t look back as he replied, instead keeping his eyes focussed on the wall before him, looking out for anything that could indicate a secret. 

“Virge, stop and think for a while, okay?” the prince’s voice hesitantly interrupted the tense silence. “He just wants to toy with us. There’s nothing there.”

“I don’t trust it,” the anxious side maintained. His hands were frozen in place, still resting against the cold bricks. His head dropped in defeat as he slowly took a few breaths. Something felt wrong. There was something more to this, he simply _knew_ it. But he didn’t know _what_ was there, or where he would have to find it. “Why else would he use… _that_ in a riddle if he was not going to use it in real life later on? Everything else in his riddles has foreshadowed what was to come. Why would this one be different?”

“This riddle doesn’t tell us anything about the room,” Roman slowly reasoned. It was clear that he wasn’t sure of this; he just wanted to convince Virgil of his point, to progress their story arc. “The others did. This one is just meant to play with our minds, to do exactly what it’s doing to you now. He wants to make us paranoid for something that will never come. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, Virgil. It’s just a stupid riddle. It doesn’t mean anything.”

His voice slowly grew more confident as he spoke and Virgil took a deep breath. Maybe Roman was right. Maybe Anti just wanted to play a trick on them. Mess with their minds to the point where they couldn’t trust anything anymore. Maybe he _was_ overanalysing this. Maybe they should just move on.

“Fine,” he finally sighed. “I… I trust your judgement. Let’s go back.”

He slowly turned around to join the rest of the group, who started their way back without speaking a word. Luckily, the door was still there. The Sphinx had returned to its previous statue-like state, but it had frozen in its new place, now guarding the entrance to the next room instead of hiding it from view. 

Logan was the first to reach the door and he placed his hand on the silver doorknob. He twisted it and pulled the door, revealing absolutely nothing, because he had to push the door, but Anti hadn’t notified him of this fact. 

_But,_ when he pushed the door open, like he was supposed to, Logan saw a room that was almost as dark as their current location. Like every room they had seen, it was illuminated by a just few candles, making the room just bright enough to see where you were going. It was as if Anti was trying to recreate a stereotypical horror game scenario, he thought. Which probably was the truth. 

Patton was the second to enter the room, followed by Virgil and finally, Roman. The door slammed shut as soon as all four of them were safely inside the room. They could vaguely see a few tables in the room, and a black void at the back, which Logan reasoned to be a passage to the next room or corridor. But first, there was something else they needed to take care of.

“Okay, I think there’s supposed to be a knife somewhere around here,” he mentioned, looking around, trying to see if he could see the glint of metal anywhere in the darkness. “The riddle mentioned a knife.”

“Do we really need another weapon, though?” Patton asked softly. “We already have a dagger and a sword, do you think we need more?”

“It would be wise to gather as much arms as we can,” Logan replied, turning his head in the direction of the voice. “So we can all defend ourselves if we need to.”

“I… guess you’re right,” the moral side nodded, “but-”

He was interrupted by Roman’s loud voice as he felt someone – or something – tapping his shoulder. 

“Mother of-” he turned around to see someone who looked like Sean, only he wore a bowler hat, old-fashioned clothes and he had a moustache. In his right hand, he held up the knife the sides were looking for, the blade shimmering in the vague candlelight. With a kind smile on his face, he showed Roman the knife. He had stumbled back at the prince’s exclamation, but his smile never faltered. “I’m sorry. Ah, I guess that’s the knife. Thank you… Bowler Hat Guy. I think… can anyone else get it? My hand is a little full right now.”

Patton quickly nodded and took the knife. As soon as his hands were free, the stranger started signing something with his hands. The room was dark, but just bright enough to make out what he signed. If you knew sign language, that is. 

“Oh, I… I don’t know sign language,” the prince said apologetically, turning around to face his three fellow sides. “Does anyone here know sign language?”

“I do,” Logan said, surprising literally no one. He quickly approached and started signing to the guy, his quick movements hardly visible in the vague lighting of the room. The other man answered the questions Logan had apparently asked. 

“I see,” the logical side nodded, before translating to the other sides what the stranger had told him. "Guys, that is JJ. He’s mute, but not hearing-impaired, so you are fine to talk to him. I will translate his replies to you.”

“Didn’t know you knew, like… Irish Sign Language,” Virgil noted, “or British, maybe.”

“I don’t,” Logan answered. “It’s American. Why would you think it would be otherwise?”

“Well, I would say that JJ is another one of Sean’s egos, because he looks exactly like Sean and it would be a creepy coincidence otherwise,” the anxious side explained. “And because Sean is Irish, I think it would make sense that JJ knew Irish Sign Language. Or maybe British, because Sean lives in England now. I don’t know, it’s probably stupid, and I said Sean’s name way too much in four sentences.”

“Well, I would not say that it is stupid, Virgil,” Logan reassured Virgil.  “It _is_ a logical explanation, but perhaps Sean’s egos aren’t connected to him the way we are connected to Thomas.” 

He turned back to JJ, hoping to get a better explanation. Like he expected, the ego started signing as soon as he was sure that Logan could see his answer. 

“JJ said that he learned American Sign Language because it was easier to find, and he knows a lot of Americans, so it would be simpler for them to communicate,” the logical side said. “I guess that is an appropriate reply.”

“So, JJ,” Patton asked, carefully approaching the ego, “how did _you_ end up here?”

JJ immediately started signing again, his gestures quick and kind of sloppy, as if he was in a hurry. As soon as the movements stopped, Patton turned to Logan, waiting for the translation.

“He says he has no idea,” Logan said, answering Patton’s gaze. “He was just at home when he blacked out. When he woke up, he was here, in this room.”

The paternal side nodded, but he didn’t respond. He had no idea what to say and it was evident that the others didn’t know this either. 

“Guys, can we… talk?” Roman asked suddenly, putting an end to the tense silence. “Just the four of us? Sorry, JJ, it’s nothing personal. This is just… Side business.”

JJ gave Roman a thumbs up and a smile, to signify that he didn’t care and that it was fine. He retreated to one corner of the dark room, giving the four sides as much privacy as they could at this moment. The four sides walked to another corner, where they would discuss whatever it was Roman felt the need to discuss. 

“What is it, Roman?” Logan asked, crossing his arms as he looked up at the royal. “What did you want to talk about?”

“We need to talk about what we are going to do with JJ,” the creative prince replied softly, glancing over to the corner where JJ was waiting to see if the ego had heard his words, but he couldn’t see anything in the darkness. “Do we invite him to join us?”

“Yeah, of course we do!” Patton answered quickly, a little bit too loud. He noticed his mistake, and continued, a little softer: “We can’t leave him here.”

“But we don’t know if we can trust him,” Virgil protested, playing with the hem of his hoodie. “What if this is one of Anti’s plans? What if we take him with us and we regret it?”

“If we take him with us and regret it, we can abandon him,” Roman reasoned. “But if we leave him and regret it, we can’t go back. At least… I think we can’t. And besides, I trust him. He could have stabbed me instead of presenting the knife to me. None of us knew he was there, he could have murdered all of us.”

“But that’s not how Anti works,” the anxious side countered, “it’s too easy. If we _are_ going to die, he would want it to be slow, or painful. This is a game to him, he wants our deaths to be fun to look at. I think. He wouldn’t have us die by a sneak attack, he wants to play with us first.”

“Virgil has a point,” Logan said, adjusting his glasses. “But so does Roman. I personally think we should take him with us. We do not know what will come up and JJ might be able to help us. And if it is a trick, three of us have a weapon, I think we will be able to defend ourselves.”

“That makes three against one, Emo-ji,” Roman proclaimed with a smug grin, earning an eyeroll from Virgil. 

“Fine, let’s take him then,” the anxious side agreed. “And _Emo-ji_? Really?”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but I haven’t had a long time to think of a better nickname,” the prince defended himself. “We are dealing with more important matters here.”

“So, I guess you could say there are more important matters at _hand_ , then?” Virgil asked, smirking up at the creative side, who tried his best to look offended. 

“Rude,” he retorted. “But yeah, I did. I do think we need to go now, I don’t think we have a lot of time on our hands.”

“Yeah, that sounds handy.”

“You are quite the handful, Virge.” Virgil snickered as he nodded at this statement. 

“I am not denying that,” he mumbled, “but we should probably go before this gets out of hand.”

“That sounds good, I do think we should proceed,” Logan said quickly, before anyone else could make any more hand-related puns. He looked around in the dark room, trying to find JJ in order to ask him to join the four on the rest of their journey. A few seconds later, the two approached and Logan told them that JJ would be joining them. 

“Perfect,” Roman smiled, “let’s continue forwards then!” 

He turned around and walked towards the dark corridor. Virgil quickly followed, still dragging the sword behind him, for they hadn’t been able to find a sheath for it anywhere. Patton was next and Logan and JJ closed the ranks, Logan answering all questions JJ asked about their experiences in this… place. They walked until Roman suddenly stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of a three-way intersection. The royal side looked around, expecting to find a small paper stuck to one of the walls, but he was disappointed. 

“What, there’s no riddle?” he wondered softly. “So is this just… luck?”

“It’s fate,” Logan murmured. 

“What was that, Logan?” Patton asked, turning around so he was facing the logical side. 

“It’s fate,” he repeated. “The previous poem called the Sphinx a ‘lord of fate’. Perhaps that was a reference to this.”

“Right,” Roman nodded. "So it’s chance, then. Where do we go?”

To the left, there was a plain hallway. Roman could vaguely see a door in the distance, but that was it. There were no hints as to what would await them if they passed through there. 

To the right, there was a hallway identical to the one of the left. Only, something that resembled black smoke swirled through the air. It slowly made its way to the side and curled around Virgil’s leg. But when he looked down at the smoke, it disappeared again, leaving no trace of its existence. But there was nothing to indicate the challenge that would wait for them behind the door. 

**Choice 5: Where do the sides go?**

**a.** **To the left**

**b.** **To the right**

**[Vote here](https://www.strawpoll.me/15224649). You have until Thursday March 15 th, 12 PM GMT**


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Some anxiety, but I think that's it!

******You chose:**

**Option b: To the right**

“I think we should go right,” Patton reasoned. “I don’t know why, it just… _feels_ better, I… I think.”

Virgil looked at his best friend, lost in thought. He heard what the other had said, but the shadow he had noticed was unsettling. It felt familiar, and not in a good way. He knew that no matter what route they would pick, they would not be faced with anything _good,_ but he wasn’t sure if he was… _comfortable_ with going right. But by the time he had come to this conclusion, Roman was already approaching the aforementioned door, hardly registering the black shadowy wisps of smoke that emerged from underneath it. In one swift motion, the price pushed the door open and he entered the room. Virgil followed, slightly reluctant, followed by the other sides – and JJ. 

As soon as they stepped inside the long corridor that was hidden by the door, Virgil felt a familiar tug at his heart that made him panic. He vaguely heard the door slam shut, but it seemed so far away. 

“We need to get out of here,” Virgil muttered. “Can we still turn back? We need to get out?”

“Why?” Patton asked, looking at the anxious side in worry. “What’s wrong, Virge?”

“Phobos.” As he heard this one word, Roman looked up with wide eyes as he turned to the younger side. 

“Are you sure it’s him?”

“Of course I am sure,” Virgil snapped, immediately regretting this, “I know what it feels like.”

“What are you talking about?” Logan asked, stepping closer as Virgil looked around, trying to locate the creature. 

“Phobos is a creature from the dreamscape,” Roman explained, glancing at Virgil, “I don’t know anything about it, really. But it seems to be linked to Virgil and it reacts to his presence in the dreamscape, it is drawn to him alone and Virgil appears to… have a quite severe reaction to him as well. But I have no idea where it originates from.”

“Is there no way we can get out?” Patton asked, now frowning in worry as he turned around to face the door. JJ, who had barely moved, was closest to the door and he pushed against it, trying to get it to open. But to no avail. 

Meanwhile, Virgil was sure he saw a figure growing in the darkness of the room. Every second, it grew, just like the panicked thoughts in his mind. He didn’t know why Phobos scared him so much. The creature never actually _hurt_ him. It didn’t really do anything at all, to be fair. It just… existed. And it was so horribly frightening. He hated the creature so, so much and the mere thought of him frightened the side. He turned around quickly to see JJ still pushing against the door in an attempt to open it. When it was clear that this wouldn’t work, he turned to the four sides and shrugged in apology as it was obvious that they wouldn’t be able to get out of there. 

In the darkness, Virgil saw the faint glow of two dark crimson dots. Phobos’ eyes were forming. With a frown, the anxious side watched as the glow slowly became stronger. Phobos wasn’t supposed to grow like this. It wasn’t able to form or grow stronger as long as someone kept an eye on him. But now, with five pairs of eyes on its form, the creature grew, unimpeded by the attention. 

“How is he doing that?” Roman muttered under his breath, clearly having the same doubts as his anxious companion. 

“I’m guessing the laws of the dreamscape don’t work here,” Virgil responded softly, his voice shaking and weak. 

Phobos growled loudly, as if he wanted to show the others that he was fully formed, that he was there now. Virgil flinched and stumbled back, while the prince protectively stepped out in front of him, pointing his dagger at the creature. 

“Patton, you need to stay with Virgil,” Roman ordered, “he needs you. I will try to get rid of this fiend.”

The creative side glared at the shadow beast in front of him and he slowly took a few steps closer to Phobos. He had never fought this creature with a dagger, and he just hoped this one would suffice. He usually used his own sword, a weapon created by the Fairy Godmother, meant to defeat Phobos with. No one knew where this dagger came from, who had crafted it and what it had seen. There was no saying how effective this would be.

As Patton protectively wrapped his arms around a nearly trembling Virgil, Logan looked around, feeling a hand tapping his shoulder. Before him, he saw JJ, waving a piece of paper in front of the side. 

“Where did this come from?” Logan asked, taking the paper in his own hands, he looked at the paper for a few second before turning his gaze to the ego, who signed that it came out of nowhere. Logan nodded and called out to the prince, who was seemingly about to ambush the monster of shadows. 

“Roman,” Logan called. “You don’t need to do it. There is another poem.”

The creative side turned around and nodded, as he walked closer to the other sides, grumbling something under his breath. Then, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and whipped around, staring at Phobos. Even in this darkness, he could see that the creature had grown in the few seconds Roman hadn’t paid attention to him. 

“Patton, you need to keep an eye on Phobos, okay?” Roman asked, leaning a little closer to the paternal side, while still keeping his eyes trained on the creature. “He grows when no one is looking at him.”

“Of course,” Patton nodded. He gently stroked Virgil’s hair as he looked up at the shadow creature. Roman smiled thankfully as he patted the moral trait’s shoulder, continuing on to where Logan and JJ were studying the poem. 

“Well, what have we got this time?” He asked as he stopped in front of the logical side, awaiting to be passed the paper with the words on there. And as he expected, Logan handed him the small white note, Roman nodded and looked down. When his eyes had adjusted to the lighting, he read:

_In darkness stirs_

_An ancient fiend_

_An enemy you’ll know_

_It lurks in night_

_And in this dark_

_It stays and it will grow_

_You needn’t fight_

_There’s just one thing_

_To do to make him go_

_Our dear, sweet Virge_

_Will have to stand_

_Against his bitter foe_

_So find a switch_

_With green it glows_

_Be careful how you go_

_So do it quick_

_And do it wise_

_Don’t let its power grow_

He frowned at the text. While he was reading it, Logan and JJ were studying the nearby walls, looking out for a faint green glow that would signify the presence of the switch the poem mentioned. As Roman came to the end of the poem, JJ tapped Logan’s shoulder and pointed at a point at the end of the long corridor, where he could see a faint spot of green, not far from Phobos. 

“You don’t think we can cheat, do you?” Roman asked softly, glancing over to Patton and Virgil behind him. Patton was slowly rocking Virgil back and forth as he mumbled something to the other side, keeping an eye on Phobos like he had told Roman he would. 

“The poem mentioned Virgil needs to do it,” Logan said as a response, “I don’t think there is anything we can do. Sure, we can _try_ but we do not know what the consequences will be. It is quite clear that Anti will not hold back.”

Roman nodded and flinched as the brief silence was interrupted by a loud growl from an impatient Phobos. In the dreamscape, Roman and Virgil had established that the shadow monster was only drawn to Virgil; it didn’t approach the other sides, for they were not interesting to him. Only Virgil mattered. And the fact that it could not approach Virgil like this, frustrated the beast. 

“You’re right,” the prince nodded, “but we can’t let Virgil do it, either. He’s terrified.”

“That’s why Anti wants him to do it,” Logan reasoned. Roman sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to think of the best thing to do. 

“We can… I can try it anyways,” he finally decided. “If anyone will have to face the consequences, it will probably be me, right?”

“That would be the most reasonable solution,” the logical side responded, “but we can’t depend on reason in this… place. This is just a game for Anti, anything could happen.”

“I really hate it when you’re right,” Roman nodded with a deep sigh. Surely, there had to be something they could do to help Virgil? Why couldn’t he just do it? At least Phobos would shy away from him, so – “Wait a minute, that’s it!”

Logan frowned at Roman’s sudden outburst, but from experience he knew to not say anything, but just wait until the prince would explain it on his own. 

“We can help Virgil without breaking the rules,” the creative side started, “Phobos is only drawn to him, but he has never come close to me, he even stays away from Patton now! That means he is not drawn to us the way he is drawn to Virgil. One of us could accompany him there and help him out! He would still be the one to flip the switch, but he will not have to face Phobos. Do you think that will work?”

“Maybe,” Logan mused, tapping his chin with his finger. “The riddle does not state that we can’t but neither does it state that we can. Knowing Anti, that could go one of two ways. It could turn out in our favour, but it doesn’t have to be that way. What would your judgement be?”

**Choice 6: What should Roman do?**

**a.** **Accompany Virgil. It is only right, for Phobos won’t do anything**

**b.** **Let Virgil go alone. It is too risky to do anything; we don’t know what will happen**

**[Vote here](https://www.strawpoll.me/15343547). You have until Thursday March 29 th, 12 PM GMT**


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Anxiety, fear of the dark, mentions of being buried alive, mentions of spiders and mentions of drowning, mentions of death

**You chose:**

**Option A:   Accompany Virgil. It is only right, for Phobos won’t do anything**

“I…” Roman paused for a moment as he turned around, looking at Patton and Virgil, who seemed so small in front of the gigantic shadow monster. He took a deep breath and, in a matter of seconds, made his decision. “I will help Virgil. I don’t know if that is what we are meant to do, but I cannot let him do this alone. And besides, if I am the one to break the rules, it will most likely be me who faces the consequences – if there are any. I can handle that.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am,” the prince said with a confident nod. “I’m a prince, I can do this kind of stuff!”

He faked a smile, hoping to mask his insecurities as he turned around, not waiting for an answer. Of course he wasn’t sure. He had no idea what Anti was planning and he had no idea what the demon would do if they didn’t follow his rules. But he would rather suffer the consequences, than have anyone else suffer, knowing he could have prevented it. No, he had made his decision. As if on cue, a loud growl filled the corridor again and Roman noticed Virgil’s trembling. The poor side was absolutely terrified. Roman hated seeing him like this. 

Carefully, he crouched next to Virgil and placed a hand on his shoulder. The anxious side flinched and pulled away a little bit, before realizing that no one would hurt him. When he realized this, he relaxed just a little, allowing Roman to put his hand back on Virgil’s shoulder. Patton glanced at Virgil for a moment when he felt his best friend tensing up, but quickly returned his gaze to Phobos, making sure the beast would not grow any stronger.

“Virgil, buddy,” Roman whispered softly to the anxious side. “Listen, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re going to have to get closer to Phobos.”

“Wh- what?” Virgil’s question was soft and his voice trembled, but it was audible enough for Roman to understand, even if the side did not look up to meet his gaze.

“I’m sorry,” the creative prince said, “I know you don’t want to, but we found a poem. We can get out of here, but you’re going to have to be the one to do it.”

“No… I- I… can’t,” Virgil protested weakly, finally turning to meet Roman, though he avoided Phobos. His eyes were wide with fear and panic and Roman’s heart ached. God, if he could do something to prevent this, he would. He would give up everything in a heartbeat just so Phobos could just disappear, but he knew that those weren’t the rules.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to be there with you,” Roman promised. “I will keep him away from you, okay? You won’t have to look at him, and he won’t hurt you. He won’t harm you, alright? Trust me.”

Virgil looked at Roman for a few long seconds, going over the words in his head. Finally, he nodded his head, eyes filled with fear and reluctancy. Roman shot him an encouraging smile as he got up. He helped the anxious side up while telling Patton of their plan.

 

Then, it was time for them to execute the plan. The two sides walked in the direction of the green glow JJ had pointed out to them. Roman made sure that Virgil faced the wall, so there was no way he could see the creature of shadows behind him. The prince himself kept an eye on the foul beast, making sure it could not grow stronger. All the way to the green button, Roman held Virgil close with his one hand, making sure to steady and comfort the anxious side. It was no secret that he was frightened, and to be fair, Roman feared his legs would give in at any moment. They’d never been face to face with Phobos this long and he feared this would drain Virgil of his energy.

Luckily, it wasn’t long before Virgil stopped him, muttered that he saw the green button – though it felt like they’d walked for ages. Roman halted immediately as Virgil stepped forwards, pressing the button. When he had done this, the anxious side rested his forehead against Roman’s shoulder, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. He shut his eyes tight and waited for what was to come. 

Roman, too, braced himself, half expecting something bad to happen to the two of them for breaking the rules of the poem. But nothing happened. Nothing bad, at least. As soon as Virgil had pushed the button, the shadow beast started to shrink. Slowly, but surely, it shrunk until even the crimson glow of its eyes had disappeared. Next to them, Roman spotted a door.

“He’s gone,” he told Virgil softly, as he wrapped an arm around the trembling side. “See? I told you I would protect you. You’re safe now.”

Virgil nodded weakly, still not looking up. He was still trembling, but after a few moments, at least his breathing evened out a little and he felt confident enough to look up again, with red and puffy eyes and tearstained cheeks. His eyeshadow had smudged a little on Roman’s white shirt, but he didn’t comment on it.

“I’m proud of you, Virge,” Roman said to his friend, looking at him with an encouraging smile. Virgil pulled one corner of his mouth up in a half smile, but didn’t respond.

“You did great, kiddo,” Patton nodded – Roman had no idea when he had joined, but as he looked back, the creative prince saw Logan and JJ standing next to him, both eyeing Virgil with hardly readable expressions. “That was very brave of you.”

Virgil nodded and he looked down, not sure what to say to these compliments. He was silent for a few moments before turning around, noticing the door behind him and he looked at the others, awaiting what they would have to say about this. 

“How are you feeling, Virgil?” Logan asked worriedly as he noticed the anxious side’s glance. “I am aware that this situation caused you a significant amount of distress. Do you want to take a moment to recover? We can wait here, if you need to. We don’t want to rush you.”

“No, it… it’s fine,” Virgil said with a shaking and uncertain voice. “We should pro-probably continue. And I… I’m fine. Really.”

“Are you sure?” the logical side asked again. “You should take your time if you need it, we are safe here- relatively safe. The challenge is done, I do not think anything will happen in here. Not at this moment. If you want to take some time for yourself…”

“It’s fine,” Virgil repeated. “Trust me.”

“Okay, kiddo,” Patton said, eyeing his best friend with worry. He agreed with Logan on the matter, but he didn’t want to push this subject. If Virgil said he was going to be fine… should they trust him on it? “If you say so.”

The anxious side nodded and turned around, opening the door behind him. It swung open with ease and Virgil was the first to step in.

 

When he entered the room, he was surrounded by darkness. The only light came from the door opening behind him. After a matter of seconds, the door was closed and Virgil was about to panic at the darkness around him, when it cleared up, forming a room around him. Relieved by this event, Virgil looked around to take in their surroundings.

And that’s when he noticed he was alone.

 

He was stood in a big room. Black and empty, with only a grey control panel in front of him. The other sides and JJ were gone. Disappeared without a trace.

“Guys?” he called out with his shaky voice. No response. Obviously.

Not knowing what else to do, the anxious side slowly walked to the control panel, where he noticed a poem had been taped to the side. Of course, there was a poem. With a deep breath, he read the words on the page.

 

_Welcome my sweet Virgil, dear_

_As you might see, you are alone_

_Your friends – don’t fear – they are not gone_

_They’re merely part of my own plan_

_In front of you, there you will see_

_Seven buttons, a set of three_

_The last three are just there to talk_

_The others might set free_

_Save your friends from misery_

_From seven others, you will see_

_Only three give what you seek_

_The three remain to merely speak_

_Will give a hint, a rhyme unique_

_Those instructions you’ll abide_

_To have vict’ry on your side_

_I’ll be kind, just like before_

_You’re granted an attempt or four_

_Fail anymore_

_Be well aware_

_Your friends might not get out of there_

_Have fun, now, with this puzzle game_

_And seek those with who you once came_

Virgil looked at the paper in confusion for a few seconds. Trying to figure out the meaning of the words. He turned to the panel before him, studying it intently. Like the poem had said, there were ten buttons. Three black ones at the top. Below that, there were seven coloured buttons. Blue, red, yellow, lilac, orange, green and pink. Surely, three of those buttons would set his friends free from… wherever they were. But no matter how much he read the poem, he could not find out what he was supposed to do. There were no clues as to which button he had to press in order to release his friends, so how-

_“Tick tock, Virgieboy,”_ a glitching voice taunted suddenly. Virgil cursed as he jumped at the sudden sound of it and looked around, trying to locate the source of the highly unpleasant sound. _“Time is running out.”_

The anxious side waited for a few moments, but nothing else happened, so he looked down at the poem again. That’s when he noticed something. The black ones were there to speak and provide him a hint? Virgil had no idea what that meant, but he decided to press one of them and see what happens. So, he chose the first one.

The anxious side pushed the button and waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened. Maybe he had to speak?

“Hello?” he asked softly. He didn't expect a response, but still, it came.

“Virge? Is- is that you?” The voice was strained and weak, but Virgil quickly recognized it as the prince's.

“It is,” Virgil confirmed with a nod, leaning on the control panel before him. “Where are you? I need to get you out of here, but I don't know how...”

“I don't... know,” Roman stammered, clearly in distress, “but I- I can't... I think they're bur- I hear some- something. Like they’re… shoveling dirt and…”

“Calm down, Roman, I’m here,” Virgil spoke softly as he thought of what Roman wanted to say. He knew the prince was panicking and that ‘they’ were shoveling dirt. And there were only a few things he knew Roman feared, so with that knowledge… “Are they burying you? Is that what you wanted to say?”

“I… I think so.” Virgil took a deep breath as he heard this answer. He had to get Roman out of there as soon as possible, but he didn’t know _how_. Were the others able to give him a hint? Was there something else he needed to do?

“Ro, listen,” the anxious side said, trying to organize his own thoughts as he did. “I can get you out of here. There’s a few buttons here and I need to press the right one. I know you are panicking, but I am going to get you out of there. I need you to concentrate, alright? Take deep breaths. Can you see anything around you? Maybe there’s something that can give us a hint.”

“I… I… there is a poem here,” Roman answered softly, his voice shaking. “I can kind of read it, but…”

“Can you read it to me?” Virgil asked carefully, “it might be useful.”

The other side remained silent for a few moments, and Virgil feared that their connection would have been cut off, but then the creative prince slowly read out the poem:

_Buried deep underground_

_Hidden to be never found_

_Lies a man, once a royal_

_To his dreams he was loyal_

_Now a shadow of that man_

_You must save him, if you can_

_But be quick; time's running out_

_Soon he'll vanish below ground_

_The colour, calmest of all_

_Will catch Princey, stop his fall_

_His blood might save him, but be quick_

_This little game might make him sick_

_Be calm. Be wise. Now make your choice._

_Perhaps you might hear Princey's voice_

 

The prince’s voice broke a few times as he read out the poem, but Virgil understood everything nonetheless. He understood the words, that is. He wasn’t _quite_ sure about the meaning of it, though. But he had a plan.

“Thank you,” he nodded. “I’m going to have to talk to the others now. Try to stay calm, I’m going to get you out of here. Breathe in for four seconds, hold for seven and out for eight, yeah?”

“I… I’ll try,” Roman responded.

“That’s all I ask of you,” Virgil said, “now, I will see you later. Hang in there.”

As he repeated the hints in his head, he pressed the first button again to switch off the microphone and quickly moved on to the second one.  

“Hello?” He asked again as he had pressed the button.

“Virge, kiddo?” Patton’s voice asked, trembling slightly. Considering that Roman was exposed to one of his worst fears, it wouldn’t be weird to think that the same would be happening to Patton. And knowing Patton… it wasn’t difficult to think what this would be.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Virgil said with a nod. “Listen, I think I know what’s happening to you, and I can get you out of there. But I need your help. Do you have a poem there with you?”

“I… yeah,” Patton said. “I read over it, it doesn’t make a lot of sense, though.”

“I know,” Virgil nodded, “can you still read it to me? It’s important.”

“Alright, kiddo, if you say so,” the moral trait responded. Again, it remained silent for just a few moments before he read the words:

_In a small room, far yet near_

_We find Patton, grabbed by fear_

_Because in there, like he will hate_

_Spiders like hungry rats await_

_Although held back by walls of glass_

_This protection will not last_

_Time is running out, you hear_

_Soon, those walls will disappear_

_Search the colour of his heart_

_And of winter-blooming trees_

_With those last words, we will part_

_I wonder who next you’ll meet_

“Okay,” Virgil said to himself, looking down at the panel as he thought about these words. “Okay, I… it will have to do. Thank you, Pat. I’m going to get you out of there, I just need to talk to Logan. Try to stay calm, okay? It’s going to be fine, I will get you out before those spiders can.”

“Alright.” Virgil hated how he could hear the terror in Patton’s voice. He wanted Patton to be okay. He wanted this to stop. But for that to happen, he had to solve these riddles, and he had a time limit. He had to move on.

“I need to talk to Logan now,” he told his best friend. “But I’m going to get you out of there. Those spiders can’t hurt you now, okay? You’re safe.”

“Okay,” Patton breathed in response. “Okay, you’re- you’re right. They can’t hurt me like this. There’s- oh my goodness one of them jumped against the glass, I can’t do this Virge, I can’t, I-“

“Calm down, Patton,” Virgil urged gently. “Don’t focus on the spiders, okay? Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Do you remember the techniques you taught me? In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. Can you do that for me, Pat?”

“I… I think so,” the moral trait answered. “In for four… hold for seven, out for- yeah… I- think I can do that.”

“Great,” his best friend said with a nod. “Keep doing that. Don’t think about the- just focus on your breath. I’m going to talk to Logan, I will get you out of there.”

“O- okay,” Patton answered. “Good luck, kiddo.”

“Thanks, Pat,” Virgil nodded, “you… too. I love you.”

“I love you too, Virge.”

After that, the side pressed the button, cutting off the communication with Patton, and immediately pressed the last one to talk to Logan.

“Lo?” he asked softly, waiting for a response. “Are you there?”

“Virgil?” the logical side questioned in response. His voice was strong as ever, though Virgil recognized a slight tremble. “Yes, I am. Where are you?”

“I’m in a different room,” Virgil replied quickly, wanting this to be over before one of the sides died. He didn’t clarify this any further, nor did he ask Logan what he was exposed to. It wasn’t important at the moment. “Listen, I might be able to get you out of wherever you are. Do you have a riddle there?”

“I don’t think- yes I do,” Logan said. “It is up on the ceiling, I might have to take a little bit of time to decipher it.”

“Alright,” Virgil said, tapping his fingers against the grey surface of the control panel. The two other sides were at the back of his mind, calling to him. He had to hurry. He had to save them before it was to late. He had to get them out of there. “We do have a time limit, though.”

“Yeah, I think I have it here,” Logan said. He scraped his throat before reading the words. He tried to keep his voice steady for the sake of the anxious side, but Virgil detected a shakiness nonetheless.

 

_Last but not least, Logan speaks_

_First so headstrong, now so weak_

_Cause water's dripping in, you see_

_In his cell of three by three_

_Slowly, surely, the level grows_

_Fast or slow, whoever knows?_

_You might want to save him now_

_Before this water makes him drown_

_Between blue and yellow lies your key_

_The colour of efficiency_

_The one to set dear Logan free_

_Be quick; your time is running out_

_Could kill your friends without a doubt_

 

“Alright,” Virgil nodded, his mind working a top speed in an attempt to decipher the poem. But before anyone could say anything, a better idea came up. “Logan, do you have any idea what he might mean with-”

But before he could finish his thoughts, Virgil was interrupted by a shock coursing through his body. He gasped and stumbled back.

_“No cheating, Virgey,”_ a glitching voice said out of nowhere. Instinctively, Virgil looked up as he responded to this statement.

“But I just-”

_“You know the rules.”_

The anxious side grumbled softly to himself as he looked down. It seemed that he would have to do this all by himself, then.

**Choice 7: Which buttons should Virgil press? You may choose up to three. No cheating :)**

**a.** **Blue**

**b.** **Red**

**c.** **Yellow**

**d.** **Lilac**

**e.** **Orange**

**f.** **Green**

**g.** **Pink**

**[Vote here](https://www.strawpoll.me/15806184). You have until Thursday June 7** **th** **, 12 PM GMT**  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead!! Woohh! I'm sorry for the late update, I have been very busy with uni and a play I was in over the past two months, but luckily, the play is over and uni is getting a little less busy (though I have one of my last exams of this year in two weeks but ssh) so maybe I will be able to pick up the schedule again haha (:


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof I'm sorry for the long silence for this fic hahah. I've had some trouble planning this chapter because I had this idea which I /loved/ but I had difficulty working it into a chapter for a fic. I found a way! It's not exactly like I wanted it to be, but it's still interesting I think! The notes and warnings for this are important so have a read through that :D
> 
> Warnings: anxiety, implied/possible major character death, panic attack  
> Note: There is a part with some internal monologue. Because of the lay-out I wanted this to have, I didn't mention who said what. To make it easier, Virgil is in italics, Roman is bold and Logan is underlined.

**You chose: Blue, red, green and lilac**

 

Virgil looked down at the buttons as his mind raced, trying to find the correct solutions to the riddles the others had read, trying not to think about the fact that their _lives were on the line_ , knowing that would stress him out even more. But at the same time… there was a lot of pressure behind this. He _had_ to get this right.

 

Finally, he thought he had found the right solutions to the riddles and with a deep sigh, Virgil pressed the first button.

Blue.

 

A few moments passed and Virgil started to fear he had made a mistake, when the wall in the far left corner started to move. It slid to the side, revealing a dark passage, and not even a second later, Roman rolled out, taking in deep breaths as he lay motionlessly on the floor. He coughed weakly as he looked up at Virgil, who returned his gaze with worry in his wide eyes.

“Ro,” he breathed as he rushed towards the pile of dishevelled prince in the corner of the room.

“Virge,” Roman responded between rushed breaths, “they- they… I thought I… God, I…”

“Calm down,” Virgil whispered as he carefully places a hand on Roman’s shoulders. “You’re safe. I’m here. Breathe, okay? In for four,” – he paused as the other did as he was told – “hold for seven,” – he waited again – “out for eight. You’re doing great, Ro. I’m here. You’re safe.”

Virgil carefully got up, trying to walk back to the control panel to – hopefully – rescue the other sides, but Roman latched onto his wrist, keeping him in place.

“Please… don’t,” he said hoarsely, “don’t… leave.”

“I’m not leaving you, Roman,” the anxious side reassured the other. “I’ll still be here. But I need to go to the panel. I need to help the others. But can you stand? You can come with me.”

Roman nodded as he shakily got to his feet, supported by Virgil and the two of them made their way towards the control panel. Every so often, the younger side would look back to the other, who looked down to hide the red blotches on his face – but not fully succeeding. He sniffled every once in a while, refusing to meet Virgil’s eyes as the other looked at the panel.

 

Red button.

Nothing happened.

 

Virgil could feel his heart stop. He waited for the wall to open up but nothing happened.

“Virge,” Roman interrupted the tense silence carefully, “can I… hug you?”

“Yeah, sure,” Virgil nodded. He didn’t look at the creative side, instead focussing his attention on the buttons on the panel. He had made one mistake, but… that didn’t matter. He could still rescue the two other sides, there was still hope.

Roman, stood behind Virgil, wrapped his arms around Virgil’s waist and nuzzled into the hood of his hoodie.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered softly, muffled by the fabric of the hood. “I just…”

“It’s fine,” Virgil tried to reassure the older side as he pressed the green button. “I understand. Can’t blame you.”

He carefully rested one of his hands on Roman’s intertwined hands and leaned back into the – surprisingly comfortable – embrace as he waited for the walls to open. His heart beat wildly against his ribs, fearing that he would mess this up and kill one of his friends.

 

But just when he was going to give up, the wall on the far right side of the corner opened up, and out stumbled a soaked and heavily breathing Logan. The logical side stumbled forwards a little, before falling to his knees, coughing. His hands shot to his throat, fiddling with his tie.

“Logan!” Roman quickly released Virgil from his hold and rushed to the other side. “Oh my goodness gracious, are you okay? You’re soaking wet, what happened?”

Logan barely had time to respond as the prince ran up to him, gently helping him to his feet.

“Water,” he breathed, tightly holding on to Roman’s hands. “Rising. I-”

“It’s okay, Specs,” Roman said softly. “I get you.”

“Where- where’s Patton?”

“I’m trying to save him,” Virgil mumbled. “It was the thing I tried to ask you about.”

Logan nodded. He still didn’t understand the situation, but Virgil looked tense, scared, even. He stared at the control panel and Logan saw his focus. Instead of interrupting, he just carefully wrapped his arms around Roman in a rare hug.

 

Meanwhile, Virgil stared at the buttons in front of him. He just had to press a button. The last one. It was his last chance.

Lilac.

 

Nothing happened.

 

Virgil held his breath and waited for one second.

And one more.

But nothing happened.

 

“No,” he mumbled to himself, eyes widening as he pushed the black button to talk to Patton, hoping he would be able to do something.

“Patton?” he called weakly as he pushed every button on the panel, hoping to achieve something.

“Virge, kiddo, what’s going on?” Patton’s voice was filled with concern as he asked this question and Virgil teared up, trying to form a coherent response.

“Patton, I’m sorry,” he said, nearly sobbing now, “I am so sorry, I didn’t-”

 

Then, the air was filled with a high-pitched static noise that was loud enough to make the three flinch. Virgil called out to Patton a few more times, but no response came. The anxious side hit his palm against the black button in the middle one more time, and the static noise immediately stopped. Then, Virgil finally let out a choked sob as he leaned his head against the cool panel, trying not to hyperventilate. But how was he supposed to do that when he had failed to rescue his best friend? How was he supposed to stay calm when Patton was left there, to his own devices, trapped with those spiders. Or worse-

 

“Virge,” Roman asked softly, kneeling down beside Virgil as Logan stood behind the pair, both still shaken from what they had been exposed to earlier. “What- is that- is he…”

As soon as he felt the presence of the prince behind him, Virgil turned around, wrapping his arms around Roman tightly.

“There- he- spiders,” the anxious side managed to choke out, “I don’t… I don’t know what hap- happened, but I couldn’t- I didn’t- I didn’t… save him, and… I- I can’t- I’m out of… out of turns and I- he-”

“Hey, hey it’s okay,” Roman whispered, cradling the trembling side in his arms. It was ironic how the roles had reversed in just a few minutes. Now, it was Roman who – even though he was still shaking – had to comfort Virgil instead of the other way around.

“No, you don’t- you don’t understand,” Virgil tried, “he- he…”

A small noise that sounded like the mix of a sob and a whimper left Virgil’s mouth as he buried his face in the prince’s shirt.

The two other sides remained silent. They knew what happened, of course they did. And it hurt, of course it did. But what could they say? How could they comfort their friend? What could they possibly say to make things right?

 

All three of them sat there in silence, all three of them processing everything that had happened. None of them spoke. None of them moved. The only one moving was Logan, slowly approaching the two others. He kneeled down next to them, awkwardly joining their hug.

But they all knew they had to move on. They all knew they couldn’t stay here. They had to go forwards.

 

So, after a while, Logan hesitantly suggested this. He knew it wasn’t the best timing, but he was scared of what might happen to them if they stayed here. Surely, Anti would want them to proceed, and he had no idea what the demon might do to get them to leave the room. He wanted to go on before they could find out.

The two others nodded. They didn’t want to, but they understood.

 

The trio slowly got up. Virgil still held on to Roman’s hand as they moved towards the door. He was terrified of losing the others. Of being alone again. Who knows what might be waiting for them in the next room? What if they would be separated again? The side wasn’t sure he could handle that.

 

Logan was the first to reach the door, and he placed a hand on the doorknob.

“Are you guys… ready to go?” he asked softly, eyeing the two worriedly. He knew all of them had been through quite a lot since coming here, and no one knew what was yet to come, he knew this affected all of them. And even then, he felt the need to take care of the others. Like he had to be there for them, to support them. Even if he was damaged himself.

“I don’t know about Virge, but I am,” the prince said, looking at Virgil, who leaned against his shoulder. He didn’t look up as he nodded, feeling like he was unable to talk after his panic attack. He’d need a bit to recover before he trusted his voice again.

Logan nodded and slowly opened the door. He was the first to enter the next room. If anything was to happen, he would be the first to know.

 

However, nothing happened. They were in an empty room, with only a large, black door before them. A small piece of paper was stuck to it.

Cautiously, the logical trait approached the door, snatching the piece of paper, reading out what he saw before him.

 

_One door_

_Fit for three in one_

_No less, no more_

_That’s all that goes_

_‘Stay determined’ through this course_

_Communication is your key_

_Think this through responsibly_

_Only so few choices, little time_

_You might just meet some puppets mine_

_Good luck my side-ly loves,_

_I’ll see you on the other side_

“Stay de- stay determined,” Virgil muttered hoarsely. “Nice reference.”

Roman looked up at him with a vague smile, glad to hear the other managed a few words again. Meanwhile, Logan kept his eyes glued to the paper, trying to figure out what the riddle meant.

“What do you think this is trying to say?” he asked the others, finally turning to them. “I can’t figure this out.”

Roman snatched the paper out of the logical trait’s hands and read the riddle in front of him, biting his bottom lip.

“It’s almost as if he wants us to fuse,” he said, frowning in confusion. “I mean ‘three in one’, ‘communication is your key’. It really sounds like a- a fusion. But surely… that isn’t... right?”

“I mean… it… it’s not as if any- anything before this has made sense, right?” Virgil asked. “This place isn’t… _logical_. You’ve seen.”

“That’s right, but… Logan?” He turned to the other trait, as if he hoped that the other would disprove his theory, tell him that he was being way too illogical. But instead, the older side slowly nodded, lost in thoughts.

“Actually- I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… you might be right,” he told the creative side. “It’s at least worth a shot. How does this fusion thing work?”

Roman, surprised by these words, explained Logan how to fuse. Virgil already knew how it worked, so he helped the prince where he fell short. And so, after a while, they finally managed to explain it. Logan didn’t seem to understand it, but he had decided long ago that he had to push logic away, however unnatural that was to him, the embodiment of logic. This world wasn’t logical, and he had to adapt if they wanted to survive. So, he nodded and told the other two he would follow their lead.

And so, they did it. They did their best to sync their movement with the others and then, they just had to hold each other, and then-

 

There was a moment of suspense. An odd, warm feeling. Then… something… _different_. Instead of three sides, there was now one. Virogan. Taller than the three sides who made him, two more arms – though he only had three hands – and three multicoloured eyes.

“Oh come on, why am I missing a hand?” Virogan grumbled, looking down. “That’s just mean.”

_“Your fault, Roman.”_

**“Well excuse me, it’s not like I asked for this.”**

_“I never claimed that.”_

“Okay, through the door of impending doom I go,” Virogan muttered, shutting up his inner dialogue. “Now let’s hope the challenge isn’t too horrible, huh?”

He took a deep breath and walked towards the door, pushing it open with two of his hands. After yet another slow and deep breath, he walked into the room, filled with darkness.

But before anyone had time to panic, something appeared. A white line all around him. Virogan looked at the line and rushed towards it, noticing the odd absence of any limbs as he did. He tried to turn his head, but even that was gone. How he could still see his surroundings was a mystery.

_“What’s this? Where are we?”_

**“A box? Are we trapped?”**

“We don’t seem to have a body, what’s going on?”

_“Guys…”_

**“Now that just doesn’t make sense. If we don’t have a body, then how are we here, Captain Turd?”**

_“Guys?”_

“I don’t know, but if you gave me-”

_“GUYS!”_

**“No need to yell, Black Canary, I’m right here, you know?”**

_“Sorry, you weren’t listening. You need to stop your bickering, we’re going to fall apart like this. We can’t unfuse in here.”_

**“Right, sorry.”**

“I apologise. I’m just… stressed.”

_“We all are.”_

“We are. Now, to find out what is happening.”

_“Undertale.”_

“What?”

_“We’re a heart in a box. The poem mentioned determination; I think this is an Undertale battle.”_

**“What? So you mean to say we’re-”**

 

* Darkiplier fades in

 

**“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”**

“Okay… what’s this?”

_“I think we’re going to need to fight Dark.”_

“How do we do that?”

_“I don’t know. Maybe we check the menu to see our options?”_

**“And how-”**

_“Let me try something.”_

* * *

 

_Virogan_

_HP: 57_

_Attack: 55_

_Defence: 15_

* * *

 

_[FIGHT]_

_* Attack your enemy._

_Warning: this might reduce your attack_ _through the rest of_ _the course and affect the rest of your journey_

_[PROTECT]_

_* Maximise your HP. Takes up a turn_

_[REASON]_

_* Try to reason with your enemy and talk them out of fighting. Possibioty of lowering their defence too. Warning: this will not fully defeat your enemy and you might encounter them later on_

_[INVENTORY]_

_* Change armour?_

_Equipped:_

_Inventory:_

_\- Purple sunglasses: +20 DEF, -5 DEF for your opponent_

_\- Red scarf: +15 DEF, +10 ATK_

_\- Purple plaid sash: +20 DEF, heals 2 HP every other turn_

* * *

_“There you go!”_

"How did you do that?"

_"Dunno, just tried to open the menu. Don't ask."_

**“Right, so… what do we do now?”**

_“I guess we pick an armour, a strategy and… I don’t know, fight the guy.”_

**“Right. Easy enough, isn’t it? How do we know what to do?”**

_“We should check him for information. Lo? You got anything to say?”_

“Let me see… Darkiplier. His attack is 150, his defence 40. HP of 100. Emotional manipulator. Dangerous target. Will try to lower our defence with pretty words.” 

_“Great, just what we needed, right?”_

“It’s okay, Virgil, we’re together, we can do this.”

_“We better.”_

 

**_Poll 1:_ [What armour should Virogan use?](https://www.strawpoll.me/16495323) **

**a. Purple sunglasses**

**b. Red scarf**

**c. Purple plaid sash**

_**Poll 2:** _ [ **What strategy should he use?**](https://www.strawpoll.me/16495335)

**a. Forget about the fighting and try to reason with Dark**

**b. Fight him. Just fucking fight him**

 

**You have until Thursday September 27th, 12 PM GMT**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, here’s a little… experimental thing I’m trying. This is all experimental and I’m testing the waters, so excuse me if this format is absolutely horrendous haha.  
> The outcomes of the two polls will determine your armour and strategy for the entire course of the battle, the effectiveness of their actions will be determined through a random generator, giving me a number between 1 and 5. Your choices will influence the fight and possibly the course of the story, so choose wisely (:


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: A few tiny tries at manipulation, Deceit, maybe some strong language, but I think that's it
> 
> Notes: Oof this took me longer than intended, because I stupidly brought a new problem into this without thinking of a solution, I'm sorry for the wait again haha. Just a brief reminder, for the internal dialogue between the sides: Roman is in bold, Virgil in italics, Logan is normal because underlining doesn't work on Tumblr

I think we should try to reason with him.”

**“What, reasoning with a manipulator? Yeah, great idea, Smart Glass. Giving him a chance to manipulate us, good plan.”**

“His defence is too high. If we were to fight him, even with the most optimal of conditions, it would take us a while to defeat him. It will only give him more chances to defeat us. And besides, fighting him might result in less than ideal effects through the rest of the course. I do not want to deal with possible adverse consequences.”

_“But if we reason with him… doesn’t that mean we might face him again later?”_

“Perhaps. But we will have a chance to grow stronger so we can defeat him. I just don’t want to take unnecessary risks here.”

**“I don’t agree with you. But if you think it’s best… I trust you.”**

“Thank you, Roman. Virgil?”

_“I- I don’t know. But I… I trust your judgement, Lo. Let’s go for that, then. Then if we’re not attacking, we should go for the sash as armour. That’s the most useful to us.”_

“Agreed.”

 

* You equipped the Purple plaid sash

 

_“So… now what?”_

“Now… we try to talk to him, I assume.”

 

*You tell Darkiplier that you’re not here to fight him. He nods, but doesn’t seem to be listening

“I can give you what you want… you just have to surrender.”

*Darkiplier attacks. 6 HP damage.

*Your sash heals 2 HP. Current HP: 53

 

*You make a pun. He doesn’t seem to be listening.

“I know you don’t want this. Just give in.”

*Darkiplier attacks. 8 HP damage.

*Your sash heals 2 HP. Current HP: 47

 

*You try to convince him to stop fighting. He doesn’t seem to be listening.

“This can all be over, if you give up.”

*Darkiplier attacks. 6 HP damage.

*Your sash heals 2 HP. Current HP: 43

 

**“I don’t think this is working. He isn’t listening. I say we fight him anyways.”**

“I don’t know, Roman… I don’t know if we should. Maybe… maybe this isn’t working because we’re approaching this in the wrong manner. Maybe we need a different tactic.”

**“Like what?”**

_“We shouldn’t tell him that WE are the ones who don’t want to fight…we should make it so that he doesn’t want to fight.”_

**“And how will we do THAT?”**

_“We draw him out. We should annoy him to the point where he’s so frustrated that he doesn’t even want to try to fight anymore.”_

**“Yeah, yeah, not saying that’s not a good plan, but what if it gets us KILLED? Ever thought about that?”**

_“Who do you think I am? Of course I did. I’ll just heal us when our HP gets too low. All I’m saying is… if this isn’t helping, maybe we need to take the opposite approach.”_

“I think- I think it’s worth a shot. As long as we don’t let him get to us, I think we’ll be fine.”

* A snake slithers in, hissing

*Darkiplier leaves

 

BATTLE OVER

 

“Well that was… weird…” Virogan muttered to himself as the room went back to normal, and he gained back all his limbs. Minus the one hand he was missing. He wasn’t sure what just happened and why the battle ended so suddenly. But he wasn’t complaining. It meant not having to fight Dark anymore, which… was good. But what did this snake want? Where did it even come from? A lot of questions haunted the fusions mind – including thoughts of a certain snake he knew, even if the snake didn’t know _him_.

“I’m not complaining, though. Onto the next room I go!”

 

For a moment, Virogan debated unfusing for the next part of the journey, but to be fair… it felt too good to be _him_. He just wanted it to last just a little bit longer. He hadn’t done anything other than the battle, and he felt like he deserved more screentime. Or at least something more than just a battle.

The fusion walked to the door he saw in front of him and opened it. Before him, he saw a nearly empty room. Grey, with a red curtain covering the entire back wall. A note was stuck to the curtain – of course there was another note. But what was more striking, was the person stood in the room. It was JJ. The guy who had mysteriously disappeared after they had left Phobos’ hallway.

“JJ?” Virogan asked. He raised an eyebrow as he stepped closer. “What? How- where did you… what happened?”

Instead of responding, JJ studied the guy before him in confusion. It took Virogan a few moments to realise that the ego had not seen the three sides fuse, and he quickly explained that he was a fusion of the three and that Patton was… well… gone. JJ nodded slowly, not looking at the fusion as he started signing, telling his side of the tale. Apparently, he had blacked out when he left the hallway. And when he had woken up, he was here. And then Virogan came in.

“So you weren’t meant to do these challenges, then…” the fusion reasoned, putting one of his hands to his chin. “So you automatically skipped them instead of hanging around. Interesting.”

JJ nodded as Virogan walked to the red curtain, grabbing the note so he could read the next poem.

 

_Made this this far with still three_

_Not unscathed but that’s okay_

_Puppet number one you’ve met_

_And next, number two you’ll see_

_Hiding behind pools of red_

_Not alive, yet not yet dead_

_Who knows if you can save him yet?_

_Pass the test and you might see_

_Maybe grow your company_

“Okay… puppet number two behind pools of red,” Virogan mused to himself, looking up at the curtains in front of him. “Clear enough, I would say.”

All three of his hands took a hold of the soft fabric of the curtain and pulled at it, revealing one large window covering the entire wall. Behind the glass, he saw the side he thought had died. Patton. Only, he seemed to be knocked out – he was still breathing, so he was alive. He was tied up to a chair with green string. But other than that… he seemed to be okay.

“Pat?” The fusion rushed to the window, his voice sounding more like three voices than one. He closed his eyes, trying to focus, trying to stay together. He had to stay intact. Until he saved Patton, at least. Taking a few deep breaths, Virogan looked up again, sneaking a glance at his friend, studying everything he could see on the other side of the glass. Mindlessly, he pried at the edges of the glass, pounded his fists against it, hoping he could break it somehow, but it seemed to be too strong for that.

“Green string,” he said to himself, thinking out loud. “Puppet number two. We can save him. We’ve got to.”

The fusion looked around, trying to find a way to save Patton. But one thing didn’t sit right with him. “Puppet number two,” he muttered, “who are they? We haven’t met that many people. It wouldn’t be Dark – he wouldn’t agree to that. But… the only other person we’ve seen is…”

All parts of his brain were working at top speed, trying to make sense of the situation. It didn’t add up, it couldn’t be real. He had to make a mistake somewhere, but he wouldn’t make a mistake like that.

“I’ve got to admit, I never really agreed to that nickname,” a familiar voice spoke. Virogan froze in place and all three sides that were a part of him momentarily panicked. “It makes it seem like I don’t have a free will, you know? But… that’s Anti, I suppose.”

In the blink of an eye, Virogan spun around, glaring at… JJ. But the voice he had heard… oh. Of course. It all made sense now.

“Deceit,” he growled, taking a few steps closer to the side, who still disguised himself as the mute ego.

“Hi,” Deceit smirked in response as he took up his own form again. Virogan opened his mouth to speak, but he found that he couldn’t. He couldn’t even form the words he wanted to yell at the other side. He was in on this? On this twisted game for control? He knew what Anti was doing and he jumped in? _Out of free will??_

“You’re with _him_?” he hissed, conjuring up a sword in one of his hands as he spoke. “How _could you_? I should just chop your fucking little head off right now.” He paused as he held the sword to Deceit’s throat, glaring at the other side. He then tensed up slightly, seemingly in debate with himself. “You’re lucky Logan says no.”

He lowered the sword, still glaring at Deceit. His form faded slightly, as the three sides were debating was to do. Roman wanted to slice the lying side in half right then and there, Virgil didn’t protest, but Logan did. And somewhere, Roman knew he was right, but he didn’t want to admit that. He was disgusted by Deceit’s actions. He was willing to kill the other sides, after all. They could’ve all been dead by now, and Deceit had _helped_. Roman was furious, and he needed to take it out somehow.

But they had different priorities right now. Patton came first. So, it was with very much reluctance that Virogan lowered the sword, his form staying together still – though the three sides knew they couldn’t keep this form up for much longer. It was straining and it would become too much to bear soon enough.

“Well, I suppose I should thank him then?” the snake-like side scowled, raising an eyebrow at the taller fusion.

“You should,” Virogan shrugged. “You’d be dead if he wasn’t here. But… seeing as you’re with Anti… what do we need to do to get Patton back?”

“Bold of you to assume I would tell you,” Deceit smirked.

Virogan rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. You’re on his side, surely there’s a reason you’re _here_. So just spit it out and we can get this shit over with.”

His fingers twitched slightly, and the sword trembled in his hand. He was so, _so_ tempted to kill Deceit. But he feared that the side was here for a reason, and he couldn’t kill him before he found out, even if he wanted to. His form faltered slightly again, but this time, it took him longer to get himself back to stable. His emotions were playing up and slowly, the fusion was falling apart. He’d have to be quick.

“Very well,” Deceit finally sighed. “You can save him. If we make a deal.”

“Of course.” Virogan’s voice sounded more distorted, more like multiple voices at once than a single voice. “What do you want in return?”

The other smirked. “That I will just have to see about later. It would be no fun if you knew beforehand.”

“Should’ve known you would be like that,” the fusion mumbled to himself, pacing the room in an attempt to stay together. It was clear that this was straining, but something stopped him from unfusing. A small voice in the back of his head wanted to remain. “Of course you’d be like this.”

 

**What should Virogan do?**

**a.** **Accept the deal**

**b.** **Run at the window and try to break it anyways**

**c.      Fight Deceit and try to help Patton otherwise**

**Vote[here](https://www.strawpoll.me/16808968). You have until Thursday, November 15th, 12 PM GMT**


End file.
